“When? Where? Who? What? Why?”
I think I can answer 4 of those.
The nearest restaurant defines the residence. As much as I’d like to be across the street from Wilde, I think will have to remain behind Chipotle. From which it is saddening to look back, with the last food eaten leaving STL being a gyro from the Gyro House used as a landmark for so many years, at what is no longer gone to.
Where is always the hardest.
9/8/10
9/5/10
9/4/10
9/3/10
9/2/10
9/1/10
8/31/10
8/30/10
8/29/10
Possible explanations for a dog-walker going up and down the same short stretch of street over and over during a relatively brief span of time:
1) Repeatedly forgetting items necessary for dog walking.
2) Heroically attempting to have a found lost puppy sniff out its apartment.
3) Methodically testing the point at which bystanders will methodically test a pedestrian’s balance.
1) Repeatedly forgetting items necessary for dog walking.
2) Heroically attempting to have a found lost puppy sniff out its apartment.
3) Methodically testing the point at which bystanders will methodically test a pedestrian’s balance.
8/28/10
“I've been for a walk on a winter's day…”
School is supposed to be a place of learning; instead, the primary focus becomes about structured work. Ideas are quantified as credits and page lengths, to occur on a rigid schedule of hours, days, and semesters. Knowledge is secondary to demonstrable accomplishment.
“…Stopped into a church I passed along the way…”
A teacher is who is there for you; for it is your experience.
“…The preacher likes the cold / He knows I'm going to stay…”
Puff on, bubble-blowing missionaries: your attending flock awaits.
“…All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey…”
School is supposed to be a place of learning; instead, the primary focus becomes about structured work. Ideas are quantified as credits and page lengths, to occur on a rigid schedule of hours, days, and semesters. Knowledge is secondary to demonstrable accomplishment.
“…Stopped into a church I passed along the way…”
A teacher is who is there for you; for it is your experience.
“…The preacher likes the cold / He knows I'm going to stay…”
Puff on, bubble-blowing missionaries: your attending flock awaits.
“…All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey…”
8/26/10
8/24/10
8/19/10
“I count to three and grin / You smile and let me in…”
benchmark
“…We're talented and bright / We're lonely and uptight / We've found some lovely ways to disappoint…”
+ watershed
“…But the airport's always almost empty this time of the year / So let's go play on a baggage carousel…”
= watermark
“…Set our watches forward like we're just arriving here / From a past we left in a place we knew too well…”
benchmark
“…We're talented and bright / We're lonely and uptight / We've found some lovely ways to disappoint…”
+ watershed
“…But the airport's always almost empty this time of the year / So let's go play on a baggage carousel…”
= watermark
“…Set our watches forward like we're just arriving here / From a past we left in a place we knew too well…”
8/17/10
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World glimpses the clung past, be it the already-decade-removed setting, the repeatedly-not-over-exes plot, or the quest-for-maturity theme. The jokes are frequent, but nevertheless not the less funny for it, stopping just short of overdone, with humor that is both common and yet almost unerringly clever. There is no way to not feel old while watching it, in both senses: the dread of realization and the bliss of nostalgia.
8/13/10
Like the elegance of a wordless proof, there is a beauty in simple truth, a reminder of what is trying to being said, lost amid verifiability, significance, context, motivation; lost amid so much listening that isn’t being done. Information has become tethered to communication, with perception abandoned.
“…I feel as if I'm looking at the world from the bottom of a well…”
“…I feel as if I'm looking at the world from the bottom of a well…”
8/11/10
“41) How would you describe your ideal job?
(A) Ability to decide for myself what to do and how to do it
(B) Being told what to do, but not how to do it
(C) Being told what to do and getting suggestions on how to do it
(D) Being clearly told what to do and how to do it
(E) I am not sure”
You’re better than this, 41. You’re an actual question, with actual answers. Look around you; look at the company you keep. You don’t belong here.
(A) Ability to decide for myself what to do and how to do it
(B) Being told what to do, but not how to do it
(C) Being told what to do and getting suggestions on how to do it
(D) Being clearly told what to do and how to do it
(E) I am not sure”
You’re better than this, 41. You’re an actual question, with actual answers. Look around you; look at the company you keep. You don’t belong here.
8/10/10
8/9/10
8/7/10
8/6/10
Gift receipt, please? What kind of birthday present is disillusionment. Try instead the best gelato so far found on this continent with secret imported Nutella in a fresh waffle topped with flavored whipped cream, with a side of designed-for-Belgian-royalty dark chocolate.
I feel everyone could use a little more goofdom and a little less fear of recycling bins.
I feel everyone could use a little more goofdom and a little less fear of recycling bins.
8/3/10
“As a child, I knew / That the stars could only get brighter…”
Age used to be a binary: one was either a kid or an adult.
“…And we would get closer…”
And then age became a diversity of demographic strata and substrata: boomers, babies, children of the 80s, octogenarians, teens, tweens, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, young adults, old timers, retirees, newlyweds, freshmen, sophomores, senior citizens, GenX, GenY, GenMe…
“…Now that I'm older, the stars shed light upon my face / but when I found myself…”
Age used to mean something, before self-definition.
“…But it will not present my presence / And it makes my past and future painfully clear…”
You don’t always need to have a next. Sometimes you can have a now.
“…Because I feel blind…”
Age used to be a binary: one was either a kid or an adult.
“…And we would get closer…”
And then age became a diversity of demographic strata and substrata: boomers, babies, children of the 80s, octogenarians, teens, tweens, 20-somethings, 30-somethings, young adults, old timers, retirees, newlyweds, freshmen, sophomores, senior citizens, GenX, GenY, GenMe…
“…Now that I'm older, the stars shed light upon my face / but when I found myself…”
Age used to mean something, before self-definition.
“…But it will not present my presence / And it makes my past and future painfully clear…”
You don’t always need to have a next. Sometimes you can have a now.
“…Because I feel blind…”
8/2/10
At Newberry Book Fair, picked up a compilation of linguistics articles, an anthology of short stories, and a parody of Scandinavian travel hints; but not Lolita.
8/1/10
7/31/10
7/30/10
Inception mythologically explores the dream/reality dichotomy. A Theseus figure attempts to emerge from the maze and return home, dealing with father-figures, abandonment, and the monster in the middle. I was expecting there to be a more explicit revelation regarding Ariadne, literally and symbolically: while she certainly sets the thread to be followed, for her abandonment to fully parallel would require a bit more of an analogue than is necessarily present within the movie- although the final scene could certainly hint to that. Nevertheless, it is even thematically appropriate that the answer is as indefinite and as derivative as any mythological idea is, different entrances to the same labyrinth.
7/29/10
“I want to be rich and I want lots of money / I don't care about clever, I don't care about funny…”
Society is an economy: a complex system of buyers who don’t have, sellers who don’t need. None of who can see the beauty for the trees; for they have gone too far into the forest. Morality is as abstract as time; the only difference between one year and the next is what arbitrary location some arbitrary person was born. Post-apocalypse began the day parents opened their eyes.
“…And it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function / I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror…”
Identity is the difference between what one is doing and what one is thinking of doing.
“…I don't know what's right and what's real anymore / And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore…”
Society is an economy: a complex system of buyers who don’t have, sellers who don’t need. None of who can see the beauty for the trees; for they have gone too far into the forest. Morality is as abstract as time; the only difference between one year and the next is what arbitrary location some arbitrary person was born. Post-apocalypse began the day parents opened their eyes.
“…And it's not my fault, it's how I'm programmed to function / I'll look at the sun and I'll look in the mirror…”
Identity is the difference between what one is doing and what one is thinking of doing.
“…I don't know what's right and what's real anymore / And I don't know how I'm meant to feel anymore…”
7/27/10
7/25/10
7/24/10
“What I hate most about the Socratic method is how well it works.”
Showing up 15 minutes late to class trying to pass off an incompletely done assignment is not a successful solution to forgetting to do homework, not when the class only consists of 2 people, 1 of who is the professor.
It’s like it lied in the application process, but it’s so much harder to fire an employer than an employee.
Showing up 15 minutes late to class trying to pass off an incompletely done assignment is not a successful solution to forgetting to do homework, not when the class only consists of 2 people, 1 of who is the professor.
It’s like it lied in the application process, but it’s so much harder to fire an employer than an employee.
7/22/10
Someone crossing the street got mostly across and then turned back, and seemed very flustered about it. I wanted to tell her, it’s okay, we all do it; but she had already started to cross in the other direction.
Still time to change the road you’re on.
She commits not with her heart but with her schedule.
Still time to change the road you’re on.
She commits not with her heart but with her schedule.
7/21/10
7/19/10
Okay, pretending we're on Amazing Race or something, here's my advice:
Excellent leadin.
Turn off your computer (if you need to save current tabs as favorite, do that, but off off). Go outside, and (not using the internet) find a place that sells Italian newspapers. Buy one, and go to the library or a coffee shop, and translate an article, even if you have to look up every word.
Wow, that is much more Amazing Race than I was expecting.
Non-elimination.
But I mean, ask people. Go all Cash Cab street-shoutout on it.
sh You’re mixing game show metaphors. I should go before you make it worse.
Excellent leadin.
Turn off your computer (if you need to save current tabs as favorite, do that, but off off). Go outside, and (not using the internet) find a place that sells Italian newspapers. Buy one, and go to the library or a coffee shop, and translate an article, even if you have to look up every word.
Wow, that is much more Amazing Race than I was expecting.
Non-elimination.
But I mean, ask people. Go all Cash Cab street-shoutout on it.
sh You’re mixing game show metaphors. I should go before you make it worse.
7/17/10
7/16/10
In some cities, with a late start, after prior events running long, when the train being taken is single-tracked delayed, the street being closed for Transformer shoot location planning only makes all the more final a hopeless evening’s concession that inception is futile.
In any other city, such events would be of misery; but I am in Chicago.
I still don’t want to buy resume paper, he said, riding the el at 2am. I still want to buy a giant stuffed tiger.
In any other city, such events would be of misery; but I am in Chicago.
I still don’t want to buy resume paper, he said, riding the el at 2am. I still want to buy a giant stuffed tiger.
7/14/10
7/13/10
7/12/10
7/11/10
7/10/10
“You can see in your eyes / That you stop believing…”
Ah, to be in the decline of the late Cold War again, when the horizons were watched with fear and hope; when why mattered less than what; when the Russian sleeper agents in our neighborhoods could simply be assumed; and life would just go on.
“…And you go on day-to-day / While your heart just fades away…”
Governments treated captured spies like children at playground games; instead of youths having to navigate geopolitical and socioeconomic paradigms just to get through the day.
“…It’s much too revealing / You can talk your way out / But you can’t fight the feeling…”
This decade is neither a time of hope nor of ignorance. Once complacency was all that was foreign; now inevitability is.
“…That you’re fooling yourself to be here and not belong…”
Listen up, comrades: you might learn something.
“…There’s just no way out…”
Ah, to be in the decline of the late Cold War again, when the horizons were watched with fear and hope; when why mattered less than what; when the Russian sleeper agents in our neighborhoods could simply be assumed; and life would just go on.
“…And you go on day-to-day / While your heart just fades away…”
Governments treated captured spies like children at playground games; instead of youths having to navigate geopolitical and socioeconomic paradigms just to get through the day.
“…It’s much too revealing / You can talk your way out / But you can’t fight the feeling…”
This decade is neither a time of hope nor of ignorance. Once complacency was all that was foreign; now inevitability is.
“…That you’re fooling yourself to be here and not belong…”
Listen up, comrades: you might learn something.
“…There’s just no way out…”
7/9/10
A) A > B
B) A < B
C) A = B
D) there is not enough information
The problem with the SATs is that D is not an answer. Sure, there is a logical necessity to account for it. But D is not an answer to a question: it is an indeterminant between question and answer. D is a lack of an answer made into an answer; it begs the question it purportedly answers. For in real life, one cannot answer D. Nor does not have the luxury of being able to analyze everything into complete conclusion. D is an artificial construction of an imperfect society that accepts acknowledged ignorance as the end, rather than a step.
Time’s up, pencils down.
B) A < B
C) A = B
D) there is not enough information
The problem with the SATs is that D is not an answer. Sure, there is a logical necessity to account for it. But D is not an answer to a question: it is an indeterminant between question and answer. D is a lack of an answer made into an answer; it begs the question it purportedly answers. For in real life, one cannot answer D. Nor does not have the luxury of being able to analyze everything into complete conclusion. D is an artificial construction of an imperfect society that accepts acknowledged ignorance as the end, rather than a step.
Time’s up, pencils down.
7/7/10
7/6/10
While I am not in any way familiar with the original source on which the Last Airbender is purportedly based, that does not stop me from cruelly laughing at the casting, the acting, the dialogue, the characterizations, the showing, the telling- really, every part of this movie. Indeed, admiring the hilarious horrendousness is the only reason and way to see it. Although, such scorn only gets so far through; the rest of my coping consisted of either envisioning a Fifth Element crossover or a video game based on the film. For the material on screen almost works as is as a video game, and better than a movie: an quadruply balanced play dynamic, minimal plot to relay flat protagonists from one encounter to the next, and heavy pauses after every line of dialogue as if to prompt the pressing of a button to bring up the subsequent line.
7/5/10
As I was heading back from getting some chicken from a place caddycorner to my apartment, I'm stopped at the corner, in broad daylight with lots of people around, by "Mike", who seemed to be loosely with 2 others, who shaking my hand introduced himself as a "politician from Detroit", who was I'd guess a late 20s-mid 30s pear-shaped man with greasy dark hair, wearing sloppy clothes and what looked like plastic necklace and rings, and who offered me a "one time offer" (as he was "in town for only 2 days" to "get with 19 year old and Loyola girls" such as one who he "had sex with on the beach at 6am this morning"), to, if I wanted, "hang with them tonight". I apologized, and as I walked away, said that I couldn't; for I had to "tutor some third-graders in Italian".
Hey buddies, it’s Mike.
Hey buddies, it’s Mike.
7/4/10
Fireworks are our Kalashnikov rifles: gunpowder fired skywards in a gratuitous expression of victory. Yet it is gratifying how otherwise egalitarianally absent such display is of symbolism. Even the hues, which would be expected to be starkly repeated reds, whites, and blues, are instead these and greens, golds, and purples mingled without any pattern or purpose. The only overt symbolism is an occasional smiley-face. There is no analysis, just the simple contented expressions of ooh and aah. Such is victory.
7/3/10
A night anon, a meager coupon I’ll
Redeem, obtained for plucking forth a pearl
Of wisdom known by me solely from Style,
Which satisfied the bar trivia girl.
I did explain to stunned Chicago bar
The esoteric contest. One man said,
On hearing a description of this Czar,
“Wasn’t he who wrote some Bell piece which I read?”
A chit in fading ink is all I’m owed,
So fortunate to receive anything
In inkless years since my cup overflowed
Never with more renown than second string.
This tiny violin I play lacks fame.
I beg you, please, reward it all the same.
Redeem, obtained for plucking forth a pearl
Of wisdom known by me solely from Style,
Which satisfied the bar trivia girl.
I did explain to stunned Chicago bar
The esoteric contest. One man said,
On hearing a description of this Czar,
“Wasn’t he who wrote some Bell piece which I read?”
A chit in fading ink is all I’m owed,
So fortunate to receive anything
In inkless years since my cup overflowed
Never with more renown than second string.
This tiny violin I play lacks fame.
I beg you, please, reward it all the same.
7/2/10
What does it all mean.
“I may have edited the wikipage of my high school’s famous alumni to remove her, since she didn’t graduate. Meanest I’ve ever been.”
What do you do when you run into the parents of a girl you totally made cry in 6th grade?
They may not remember it. And for all you know, they may have made their daughter cry in 6th grade too. You could have so much in common.
“Next time you’re about to say something mean about yeourself, instead say something about someone else, and not as mean.”
They’re so self-involved, and I don’t even mean that as an insult.
I realize that she was a very good friend when I needed a best friend. But I also realize that she was a very awful friend when I needed a best friend.
“I may have edited the wikipage of my high school’s famous alumni to remove her, since she didn’t graduate. Meanest I’ve ever been.”
What do you do when you run into the parents of a girl you totally made cry in 6th grade?
They may not remember it. And for all you know, they may have made their daughter cry in 6th grade too. You could have so much in common.
“Next time you’re about to say something mean about yeourself, instead say something about someone else, and not as mean.”
They’re so self-involved, and I don’t even mean that as an insult.
I realize that she was a very good friend when I needed a best friend. But I also realize that she was a very awful friend when I needed a best friend.
7/1/10
6/29/10
6/27/10
6/26/10
6/24/10
“What's in a name (name: A word or string of characters that represents a cell, range of cells, formula, or constant value. Use easy-to-understand names, such as Products, to refer to hard to understand ranges, such as Sales!C20:C30.)? That which we call a cell range, function, constant, or table would tally and toil just as sweetly, methinks. But nay, don't take me at my word. Read what follows that is writ, to master all manner of names that befit. / Pray tell, what dost thou desire to do?”
What change from 2003 to 2007 to 2010 seems to be only nominal.
What change from 2003 to 2007 to 2010 seems to be only nominal.
6/23/10
6/21/10
“With all the demons I possess…”
Atop one summer peak, I made a ruckus or 2: part from curiosity, part from frustration. A few people above me heard, and they offered ignorance and sympathy. Years later, with the heights of the past forgotten, all I have of value are the harsh truths of reality slid down to; but I give them nonetheless as a comfort. And in return, I am played a random melody, only to discover that I already know the song.
Oh Balthazar Getty, you will always be the guy who looks like the guy who plays Laertes in that one version of Hamlet to me.
Lying is contagious, yes; but it is also hereditary.
“…Longing for a life / Beyond the silver moon…”
Atop one summer peak, I made a ruckus or 2: part from curiosity, part from frustration. A few people above me heard, and they offered ignorance and sympathy. Years later, with the heights of the past forgotten, all I have of value are the harsh truths of reality slid down to; but I give them nonetheless as a comfort. And in return, I am played a random melody, only to discover that I already know the song.
Oh Balthazar Getty, you will always be the guy who looks like the guy who plays Laertes in that one version of Hamlet to me.
Lying is contagious, yes; but it is also hereditary.
“…Longing for a life / Beyond the silver moon…”
6/20/10
Saw Toy Story 3. The plot surprisingly is not simply a dichotomy of whether or not the protagonists will succeed. There are constantly obstacles to be overcome, but amidst that the characters must discover what success that success actually is. Preservation, archivation, public and private donation, and destruction are all put forth as options in response to obsolescence. But not only is the right option not predefined, but there may not be a single correct answer. And that is like finding a Bachelorette where a Disney Princess is expected: it is not simply awaiting a Prince Charming, but actively determining what even is charming. And then having that unexpectedly sophisticated plot within an as expected otherwisely superlative Pixar production.
6/19/10
6/18/10
“Words of poisoned darts of pleasure…”
One of my guiltiest pleasures is lurking: listening with objective and undisturbing anonymity through the sociologically enormity that is online. Real life rarely is as transcendentally enlightening as the forum postings, blog responses, article comment sections, and wiki talk pages that people take energy to compose and time to read and reply to. Who are these people? What are they trying to do? Who does that? Why?
“I'm sorry, 68.82.154.130, but "your mom" is not a reliable source, or, at least, not a verifiable one.”
And every once in a while, some words are just a context away from pure hilarity. Some Onion editorials would write themselves.
“…This one is an easy one: feel the word and melt upon it…”
One of my guiltiest pleasures is lurking: listening with objective and undisturbing anonymity through the sociologically enormity that is online. Real life rarely is as transcendentally enlightening as the forum postings, blog responses, article comment sections, and wiki talk pages that people take energy to compose and time to read and reply to. Who are these people? What are they trying to do? Who does that? Why?
“I'm sorry, 68.82.154.130, but "your mom" is not a reliable source, or, at least, not a verifiable one.”
And every once in a while, some words are just a context away from pure hilarity. Some Onion editorials would write themselves.
“…This one is an easy one: feel the word and melt upon it…”
6/17/10
"The researchers, from four Italian universities, said they believed Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died of sunstroke while weakened by syphilis."
Don't know what more proof is needed that Caravaggio was a vampire.
Don't know what more proof is needed that Caravaggio was a vampire.
6/16/10
6/14/10
6/13/10
“History repeats itself…”
Saw Karate Kid, in which China is the new California, and middle school the new high school. The remake’s homages are weaker reflections of the classic’s memorable punchiness, but it is not the 80s; and the fact that it is a reflection is implicitly and explicitly acknowledged.
“…You’re the best / Around…”
Saw Karate Kid, in which China is the new California, and middle school the new high school. The remake’s homages are weaker reflections of the classic’s memorable punchiness, but it is not the 80s; and the fact that it is a reflection is implicitly and explicitly acknowledged.
“…You’re the best / Around…”
6/12/10
6/11/10
6/9/10
6/8/10
A Brief Tour of Lakeview Tea Establishments.
Background music at a coffeeshop is like the commercial breaks you talk over. It's meaningless, but if it's not there, it's awkward. You're just silently staring at a blank screen. You need that ambience.
So I went first to Argo Tea. I'm about to pay for my order when I notice that there's a little sign that they only give 2hrs Wifi with purchase. And I'm like, really? And the guy's like, yeah. And I'm like, because I'm going to need more than that. (And, as I don't say, every place else in the world is unlimited.) And another guy snottily says, you can go to Starbucks if you want to pay $5. So I'm like, well okay then, bye.
Background music at a coffeeshop is like the commercial breaks you talk over. It's meaningless, but if it's not there, it's awkward. You're just silently staring at a blank screen. You need that ambience.
So I went first to Argo Tea. I'm about to pay for my order when I notice that there's a little sign that they only give 2hrs Wifi with purchase. And I'm like, really? And the guy's like, yeah. And I'm like, because I'm going to need more than that. (And, as I don't say, every place else in the world is unlimited.) And another guy snottily says, you can go to Starbucks if you want to pay $5. So I'm like, well okay then, bye.
6/7/10
“Wake up in the morning feeling like P. Diddy…”
Woke up this morning, looked in my refrigerator, and realized was out of self-confidence. Yet like in Sliding Doors, it’s gratifying to have a realization which, no matter how differently done, would have nevertheless been realized at the same time in a completely different way.
“…Ain’t got no money in my pocket, but I’m already here…”
Woke up this morning, looked in my refrigerator, and realized was out of self-confidence. Yet like in Sliding Doors, it’s gratifying to have a realization which, no matter how differently done, would have nevertheless been realized at the same time in a completely different way.
“…Ain’t got no money in my pocket, but I’m already here…”
6/6/10
6/5/10
“1) BLEND the softened margarine*, rice milk**, and frosting mix at medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping the bowl.
* Substitute dairy free margarine or butter† according to your needs.
** Substitute plain soy milk or milk† according to your needs.
† Unless you are allergic to this ingredient.”
* Substitute dairy free margarine or butter† according to your needs.
** Substitute plain soy milk or milk† according to your needs.
† Unless you are allergic to this ingredient.”
6/4/10
6/3/10
6/2/10
6/1/10
5/31/10
Day 375
Hamster gets stuck under futon.
Human gets rid of futon.
Hamster gets stuck under bed.
Human gets rid of bed.
Human goes to Chicago.
Hamster goes to Chicago.
Cat goes to Chicago.
Human gets new futon.
Human gets new bed.
Hamster gets new bedding.
Cat looks in mirror.
Cat hides under bed.
Here we go.
Current standings
1) Human
2) Hamster
3) Cat
Hamster gets stuck under futon.
Human gets rid of futon.
Hamster gets stuck under bed.
Human gets rid of bed.
Human goes to Chicago.
Hamster goes to Chicago.
Cat goes to Chicago.
Human gets new futon.
Human gets new bed.
Hamster gets new bedding.
Cat looks in mirror.
Cat hides under bed.
Here we go.
Current standings
1) Human
2) Hamster
3) Cat
5/29/10
“Break ground, buckle down / It's time…”
Time runs out.
“…Let's move from this underground / Shed some of this blacklight to surrounding towns…”
Go forth and shine.
“…How much responsibility do you bear / For the ill…”
Across state lines.
“…Line up, state your name, state your claims, claim your stakes…”
Get while the giving’s good.
“…Look ahead now / Oh, let the countdown usher / The philanthropic mimes…”
Nothing left to say.
“…And scrape the paint that hides the crimes / Of a silent kind…”
Let everything go.
“…Is the position that you hold one that could parallel / A synergistically greater plan? / Or would it force us all to be packed…”
The hourglass empties.
“…In a sloping, quickly given golden sand…”
Time runs out.
“…Let's move from this underground / Shed some of this blacklight to surrounding towns…”
Go forth and shine.
“…How much responsibility do you bear / For the ill…”
Across state lines.
“…Line up, state your name, state your claims, claim your stakes…”
Get while the giving’s good.
“…Look ahead now / Oh, let the countdown usher / The philanthropic mimes…”
Nothing left to say.
“…And scrape the paint that hides the crimes / Of a silent kind…”
Let everything go.
“…Is the position that you hold one that could parallel / A synergistically greater plan? / Or would it force us all to be packed…”
The hourglass empties.
“…In a sloping, quickly given golden sand…”
5/28/10
“I want to know how Shakespeare in the Park's production of Hamlet is.”
I want to see it instead of packing and waiting for craigslist buyers and whining about how my final hours in STL are being spent packing and waiting for craigslist buyers instead of seeing it.
I never meta-reference I didn’t like.
When they ask for non-related references, I sometimes put Aunt L[].
I hope you just put L[].
I want to see it instead of packing and waiting for craigslist buyers and whining about how my final hours in STL are being spent packing and waiting for craigslist buyers instead of seeing it.
I never meta-reference I didn’t like.
When they ask for non-related references, I sometimes put Aunt L[].
I hope you just put L[].
5/27/10
5/26/10
What kind of answer are craigslist buyers looking for when they ask “Is the desk available?” Not just fraudspam- these are real people who seem to be expecting a certain reply, and I’m running out of guesses. Yes? Yes + Location? Yes + repeating contact information? No?
Economy of words.
'Is the desk available, because I don’t want it.' I mean, really, who does that? Why not, 'What’s a good time for me to not pick it up?', or 'How much won’t I be paying to not take it?'.
Economy of words.
'Is the desk available, because I don’t want it.' I mean, really, who does that? Why not, 'What’s a good time for me to not pick it up?', or 'How much won’t I be paying to not take it?'.
5/25/10
5/24/10
“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound…”
Lost was the exploration of fantastic characters and plot. Halfway throught the pilot episode I was captivated by the correspondence of the questions “wherefore the polar bear?” and “whence the gun?”, and the pacing of the reveal of answers with the posing of new questions was remarkable, given the medium.
The weakest moments were explorations of plotless aspects of characters, or of characterless moments of plots. And this narrative flaw unfortunately was highlighted in the final season’s gimmick. Perhaps being too ambitious, or perhaps the original concept being unworkable led to massive late rewriting, but for whatever reason, the character/plot narratives got increasingly divorced, with neither half satisfying. And there are always quibbles of some unresolved mystery.
It is unfortunate for what did so incredibly well to have periods of detriment, especially in its final year, but it nevertheless ends with satisfying nostalgia. The 6 years between Fall 2004 until now have been an adventure; it’s time to leave the island.
“…Once was lost, but now I’m found / I was blind, but now I see…”
Lost was the exploration of fantastic characters and plot. Halfway throught the pilot episode I was captivated by the correspondence of the questions “wherefore the polar bear?” and “whence the gun?”, and the pacing of the reveal of answers with the posing of new questions was remarkable, given the medium.
The weakest moments were explorations of plotless aspects of characters, or of characterless moments of plots. And this narrative flaw unfortunately was highlighted in the final season’s gimmick. Perhaps being too ambitious, or perhaps the original concept being unworkable led to massive late rewriting, but for whatever reason, the character/plot narratives got increasingly divorced, with neither half satisfying. And there are always quibbles of some unresolved mystery.
It is unfortunate for what did so incredibly well to have periods of detriment, especially in its final year, but it nevertheless ends with satisfying nostalgia. The 6 years between Fall 2004 until now have been an adventure; it’s time to leave the island.
“…Once was lost, but now I’m found / I was blind, but now I see…”
5/23/10
Read “Lost Books of the Odyssey” a narrative deconstruction of the Odyssey, Odysseus, Troy, and Homer. Each of the microshort stories pulls out a strand of epic, with which to weave a clever alternative within the most basic framework of the classics. The subtleties of this cleverness, required of any proper retelling of the tales of Odysseus and of Homer, tingle the spine with appreciation: even without the dactylic meter, this wonder is what the Muse infused into the Odyssey.
5/19/10
“The time has come to say fair's fair / To pay the rent now, to pay our share…”
A piece into place: even with so much of an unknown journey to be embarked upon, one destination is known.
A place, and peace: one fewer reason to be sleepless.
“…How can we dance when our earth is turning / How do we sleep while our beds are burning…”
A piece into place: even with so much of an unknown journey to be embarked upon, one destination is known.
A place, and peace: one fewer reason to be sleepless.
“…How can we dance when our earth is turning / How do we sleep while our beds are burning…”
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